Despite claiming progress on refugee management and a series of secondary issues, Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) Thursday admitted that substantial differences remain in resolving the nearly 25-year name dispute between the two Balkan neighbors.

“There are huge mountains between us,” FYROM Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki said after talks with his Greek counterpart Nikos Kotzias in Athens. “The creation of false expectation is in no one’s interest,” he said.

Poposki said that his government has “the political duty not to agree to just any solution,” adding that any name change would have to be approved in a national referendum.

Kotzias said the two sides were seeking “an honorable compromise that combats irredentism and extremist nationalism on both sides.”

Athens has disputed the Balkan state’s use of the name “Macedonia,” adopted after Skopje declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, arguing it implies territorial claims to Greece’s northern province with the same name. It has in response blocked its neighbor’s EU and NATO ambitions.

The two sides, which have had to work together in dealing with the northbound refugee flow through their common border near Idomeni, in northern Greece, pointed to further cooperation in the area.

“We all need to ensure the safe and humanitarian handling of these people,” said Poposki, adding that “fences cannot be a long-term solution.”

“When there is a full system for correct registration, we won’t need to put up obstacles,” said Poposki, who also met with Alternate Citizens’ Protection Minister Nikos Toskas.
​
Stressing that Greece is the biggest investor in FYROM, Kotzias hailed the success of confidence-building measures between the two countries which are being developed in a wide range of sectors including the economy, culture and education.

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​(c) 2015 Ekathimerini

The new archaeological museum in Skopje, FYROM, inaugurated by the country's Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski on Saturday, includes wax figures of Greek general Alexander the Great and his father Philip II.

The life-size figures were made in Russia and will be presented alongside those of Byzantine Emperor Justinian, Perseus, the legendary founder of Mycenae and Czar Samuel. 

"All these artifacts are invaluable for our country. They mark our culture tirelessly conserving our past and in the most beautiful way possible affirm Macedonia. Such cultural heritage represents one of the foundations of sustainable development and can be a useful tool to encourage intercultural dialogue and promoting social cohesion as well as shaping of our identity as a people and country," Gruevski said in a speech.

The prime minister said investing in cultural heritage contributes to economic growth atrracting tourism.

"I believe that the contents and the value of the museum as well as its location in one of the most impressive buildings by the main square and along the River Vardar will be an incentive for the museum to be visited by many domestic and foreign guests. It will undoubtedly be a great addition to the tourist offer of Skopje and Macedonia," he added.  

Gruevski, who was joined by Culture Minister Elisabeta Kanceska-Milevska, also said the next step is the opening of the museum of the "Macedonian refugees from the Greek Civil War." 

The displays also include 83 paintings, video-animations, ambience displays, mosaics, reconstruction of neolith buildings. 

The new museum holds more than 6,000 artifacts from all historic periods, beginning from prehistoric times up to the Middle Ages, displayed at 6,000 sqm over three floors. 

According to the ministry of culture, the construction cost 27 million euros.

Note by the Macedonian League: this latest provocation is in violation of the Interim Accord.  

Source:
Enikos

The American diplomat will first propose the name to Athens, before put the pressure on Skopje.

According to a report in the Skopje-based Sloboden Pecat newspaper, American diplomat Matthew Nimetz, the UN’s special representative and mediator in the FYROM naming dispute with Greece, is about to submit a new proposal.

The newspaper cites “well-informed sources” claiming that Mr. Nimetz will suggest the name “Republic of Upper Macedonia” for the former Yugoslav country, while the domestic language would be referred to as “Macedonian” and the citizens as “people of Upper Macedonia”.

The report also stresses that FYROM’s constitution would not change, meaning that the international name would not be used domestically. Skopje appears to be pleased with its language being referred to as “Macedonian”, but is troubled by the “people of Upper Macedonia” name. Mr. Nimetz is said to present his latest proposal first to Greece, before pressuring the FYROM government into an agreement.

Another Skopje-based newspaper, Utrinski Vesnik, has also reported that Mr. Nimetz had taken the initiative to resume negotiations between Greece and FYROM in October, however this has been postponed, giving the impression that neither side is in a rush. Rumors suggest that efforts may unofficially be made prior to the EU summit in December.

Source:
To Vima International

United Nations mediator Matthew Nimetz is due to submit soon a new name proposal aimed at settling the dispute between Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), which will see the neighboring country called Republic of Upper Macedonia, according to reports in Skopje.

The reports, which are unconfirmed, suggest that the country's residents will be termed «Citizens of Upper Macedonia."

The Greek Foreign Ministry said that neither it, nor the Greek negotiator for the name issue Adamantios Vassilakis, have been informed of any specific proposal.

Nimetz last visited Athens and Skopje in July, when he appeared hopeful of striking on a solution that would be acceptable for both sides.

“Given the fact that there is a common desire to solve the issue and some ideas floating around that may be the basis for some solution, I do think that this is an issue that will get resolved,” Nimetz said at the time.

“Exactly when I cannot say,” he added.

Commissioner Štefan Füle’s plan to focus on strengthening democratic institutions and public administration in EU accession candidate and potential candidate countries was welcomed by Foreign Affairs Committee MEPs on Wednesday. In a debate following the Commission’s approval of the 2014 EU enlargement package earlier the same day, many also stressed the need to communicate the concrete and visible results of the EU enlargement process better.

The 2014 enlargement package focuses on the “third pillar”, i.e. “public administration reform and strengthening of democratic institutions”, following the rule of law and economic governance, Mr Füle told MEPs. He also underlined that “constructive and sustainable dialogue across the political spectrum” within would-be EU member states was vital and that boycotting parliaments “cannot lead to sustainable solutions of problems”.

MEPs across the board thanked Mr Füle for the work done during his five year tenure.

Excerpt regrading EU accession for the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia:

“The major problem of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia remains the name issue”, said rapporteur Ivo Vajgl (ALDE, SI). He regretted that negotiations with the FYROM had yet to be opened, arguing that “this is also a reason why the political trend in the country is not going in the direction we would have liked.” Reform of the judicial system, media freedom and the Parliament’s political culture are among other challenges the country faces, he added.

Source:
European Parliament News

A court in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) on Monday sentenced 18 people, including former intelligence employees, to jail for up to 15 years for spying for foreign countries.

Judge Gojko Ristov said evidence presented during the trial, the first of its kind in FYROM, proved the suspects guilt. The countries they allegedly spied for were not named.

The prime suspect Marjan Efremov, a former employee of the FYROM secret services, got 15 years in jail, while Goran Stojkov, a former police general, was handed down a nine-year prison term.

The others include interior ministry and parliament officials.

The court said the alleged spy ring was formed in 2009 and was active until 2012.

But local media reports said the members of the group were selling classified information to the intelligence services of Greece and Hungary.

The accused were arrested in September last year. [AFP]


Source:
Ekathimerini

It is up to the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) to make the “next steps” needed to solve its name dispute with Greece, said Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos after meeting his counterpart from the neighboring country, Nikola Poposki, in New York late on Friday.

Sources said that during the meeting Venizelos impressed upon Poposki that Skopje should show it is ready to compromise and not expect any initiatives from Greece or other European Union members. The Greek foreign minister said Athens is keen for the new round of talks between the two sides, mediated by Matthew Nimetz of the United Nations, to begin as soon as possible.

Speaking to FYROM media, Poposki described Greece as having “little interest” in solving the name dispute at the moment.

The two men also discussed energy issues, with Poposki asking Venizelos to confirm that Greece is willing to agree to connect the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), which will carry Azeri natural gas to Italy, with FYROM’s energy network.

Venizelos said Athens is willing to do so and talks on this matter can progress regardless of where talks on the name issue stand.

The vice president of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia’s (FYROM) Parliament, Antonio Milososki, has published a picture of himself and members of a group of climbers from Greece’s neighboring country holding a flag bearing the Vergina Sun after climbing Mount Olympus.

Former foreign minister Milošoski published the picture taken on Olympus’s highest peak – Mytikas – on his Twitter account on Sunday.

FYROM used the Vergina Sun, a symbol discovered at the tomb of Philip II at the archaeological site of Aigai (modern day Vergina in northern Greece), on its national flag between 1991 and 1995 but agreed under the terms of the 1995 interim accord with Greece to stop doing so.

“Upon entry into force of this Interim Accord, the Party of the Second Part shall cease to use in any way the symbol in all its forms displayed on its national flag prior to such entry into force,” states Paragraph 2 of Article 7 of the agreement.

Milososki told FYROM newspaper Vest that the flag he displayed was a “historic Macedonian symbol.”

“I always carried the flag with the 16-pointed Macedonian sun with me,” said the politician. “Another member of the climbing group had the state flag with them. So we raised both flags at the peak of Mount Olympus and we took photographs with great satisfaction.”

The Greek government described Milososki's actions as a "provocation." The Vergina Star was designated a Greek national symbol by the country's Parliament in 1993.

"We thank Mr Milososki for visiting our country so he could be photographed within Greece, with a Greek national symbol," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Constantinos Koutras.

"We would not encourage him to do the same as this would result in yet another breach of the Interim Accord and the Memorandum on Practical Measures. Provocations may justify Greek positions against all forms of irredentism but they do not help anyone, certainly not FYROM and its people."


Source:
Ekathimerini

A politically sensitive festival is taking place in a remote village in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia which is organized and sponsored by the local VMRO-DPMNE government. 

Residents of Vevcani use their pagan celebration to publicly vent their anti-Hellenic sentiments by staging events like mock funerals of the Hellenic Republic, the burning of the Greek flag and the singing of racist, anti-Greek songs.

From the video screen shot below, Greece is intentionally referred to by the Arabic term "Yunanistan" written in English as a racial slur and Hellas spelled Hell-Ass.

Source:
Euronews

Greece has warned Macedonia [sic] that its hopes of joining Nato could be damaged by a poster which has appeared in the Macedonian [sic] capital Skopje.

The poster, advertising a private art exhibition, features the Greek flag with the cross replaced by a swastika.

Greece has already threatened to veto Macedonia's [sic] Nato bid if a dispute about the name "Macedonia" is not resolved.

The Macedonian [sic] government expressed regret over the poster, after Greece made an official diplomatic complaint.

The Greek ambassador to Washington, Alexandros Mallias, complained about the poster in a letter to President George Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Jewish organisations in the US.

"The picture of the Greek flag defaced by the Nazi swastika replacing the cross is deeply offensive and insulting to the patriots and heroes, Greeks and Americans alike, who gave their lives fighting Nazism and Fascism during World War II," he wrote.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Mr Mallias said the poster was "the product of the aggressive and hostile propaganda that the government in Skopje has been propagating in Greece."

"Can you imagine a country that aspires to be a Nato member in 48 hours tolerating such propaganda?" he went on.

Nato is due to decide on Macedonia's [sic] membership bid on Thursday at the summit in Bucharest.
Greece has previously said it would veto membership, if the two countries fail to resolve a dispute over the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia's name.

Greece argues that use of the name "Macedonia" implies territorial claims on the adjoining Greek province of the same name - but Skopje rejects the argument.

The Macedonian [sic] government disassociated itself from the poster, but said it would not meddle with freedom of expression. 


Source:
BBC news